Toulouse is one of those places I just couldn’t get a pulse on. No hostels, only hotels and after another lousy Cafe Creme (which wasn’t really that but again was brown stuff in a cup with a dash of frothy milk) it’s one of those rare times I decide to keep travelling. If there […]

Biarritz is beautiful but if you happen to be on a budget in winter be mindful of the fact it is completely and totally inept! The (Flix)bus drops me on a road, no sign of tourist info. Fortunately I manage to acquire some informations on its whereabouts by asking a local in rustic French and it’s […]

Is it Dublin? Is it Pontypool? With all this white sky, its liquid fill and frequent spill you’d certainly think so but whatever it is, I like it. Aside the weather which I’m forewarned about Bilbao ticks many boxes; cool metro system, elder folk having a coffee and chin wag at traditional European cafes, Art […]

In China I’m sent a link to a movie by one of my former students. ‘The Way’ charts a journey across northern Spain by the way of St James, otherwise known as the Camino de Santiago. Ever since seeing the film I’ve been smitten with the idea of doing the walk though it requires much […]

So what happened in Madrid? Well, not a lot actually. The most unusual thing is the sudden lack of warmth doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It’s cold, but a cold that I recognise. Coming from a much more agreeable Hanoi winter hasn’t had too much of an effect so that’s […]

Time is money so the saying goes. Sadly I had plenty of the former but was running low on the latter. I was sad alright, not only to be leaving Hanoi (and my beautiful apartment) but also of saying goodbye to Laos before I had a chance to say hello. To make matters worse the […]

It has been a year since my first visit and while the city looks the same, there have been casualties. The small corner shop where I had my first ‘banh mi’ (baguette) has gone. The cool cafe where I had lunch is now a hair salon. Even the magnificent Maison D’Orient has undergone some […]